The present invention relates to chromogenic tetrazolium salt indicator compounds useful in the determination of reducing substances, particularly nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).
Tetrazolium salts are well known as chromogenic indicators responsive to reducing substances. Upon reduction, tetrazolium salts are converted into formazan dye products. These indicators have found use in a wide variety of fields, particularly the medical diagnostic field where they have been applied to, among others, cell staining and the determination of analytes in body fluids such as urine, milk, serum, and plasma. Commonly, the determination of body fluid analytes involves an AND-dependent enzymatic reaction in which NADH is formed as a function of the amount of analyte present in the sample tested. The amount of NADH generated can then be determined by the reductive conversion of an appropriate tetrazolium salt indicator to its formazan dye product.
Within the field of medical diagnostic tests, tetrazolium salt indicators are useful in a variety of different product types. One particular type is the reagent strip. This product is a solid state device comprising a paper or other porous carrier matrix which is impregnated or otherwise incorporated with chemical reagents responsive to a particular analyte, for example, glucose or cholesterol. The incorporated reagent system includes a chromogenic indicator which develops color, or changes color, as a function of the amount of analyte in a sample applied to the matrix. The resulting colorimetric response can be observed visually to give qualitative or semi-quantitative readings. Quantitative results can be obtained by reading the reflectance of the matrix surface at one or more defined wavelengths with an appropriate instrument (reflectance meter).
There is a recognized need to develop tetrazolium indicators having strong absorbance at wavelengths longer than the absorbances of major interferants that can be present in the test sample. For instance, interference from hemoglobin coloration is a particular concern where the sample is whole blood. Indicators having significant absorption above about 640 nm are required in order to substantially overcome hemoglobin interference. The commonly used tetrazolium salt indicators are 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyltetrazolium chloride (INT), 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium chloride (MTT), and 2,2',5,5'-tetraphenyl-3,3'-(3,3'-dimethoxy-4,4-diphenylene) ditetrazolium chloride (NBT). These compounds show maximum absorption (UVmax) in the range of 465-605 nm.
Another shortcoming of the conventionally used prior art tetrazolium salt indicators relates to the evolution of the instrumentation used to measure their colorimetric response. Rapid advancements are being made in developing smaller, less expensive reflectance meters. One of the more costly components of such meters is the optical system which comprises a light source, a filter or other spectral element for selecting or limiting the wavelength of incident or reflect light, and a sensor. Significant cost savings could be realized by eliminating or combining functions of the optical system elements or by using less expensive components, e.g., LEDs as illuminating light sources. However, commercially available LEDs emit light having a center wavelength that can vary significantly due to manufacturing variances and temperature dependence. The conventionally used tetrazolium salt indicators INT, MTT, and NBT have reflectance spectra which are strongly sloped in the region above their UVmax. Accordingly, without individually calibrating both each instrument, to account for manufacturing variability in the LED, and each test run, to account for variance due to temperature, large errors can be introduced to the assay result.
The following are representative of the prior art teachings concerning the use of various tetrazolium salts in colorimetric analysis. Tanaka et al, Japanese Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 61000084 (Chem. Abst. 104:203469y) describes the detection of glucose using a formazan chelate obtained by the reduction of 2-(2-benzothiazolyl)-3-(carboxy-phenyl)-5-phenyl-2H-tetrazolium halide in the presence of nickel (II). Limbach et al, German DE 3,247,894 (Chem. Abst. 101:125929v) relates to the use of INT in glucose assays. Rittersdorf et al, German DE 2,147,466 describes the use of seven 2-(2-benzothiazolyl)-3-phenyl-5-(4-[trimethylammonio]phenyl) tetrazolium salts in the determination of reducing substances such as reducing sugars, ascorbic acid, and ketosteroids.
The variety of 2-thiazolyl tetrazolium salts and/or their corresponding formazans known in the literature are represented by the following. Serebryakova et al, Khim. Geterotsikl. Soedin. 10:1403-1405 (1970) describe the synthesis and chromatic properties of benzothiazolyl-3-phenyl (methyl)-5-p-nitro(dimethylamino)phenylformazans. The authors state that both an electron-withdrawing nitro group at the para-position of the 5-phenyl and a benzothiazolyl group at the 1-position provides a bathochromic shift. Lipunova et al, Khim. Geterotsikl. Soedin. (1971) 831-835 compare the bathochromic effect of an 5-naphthyl or o-tolyl group on the visible spectrum of N-1-benzothiazolyl formazans. Johne et al, Pharmazie 34:790-794 (1979) describe the compounds 1-(4-methyl-5-carb-ethoxythiazol-2-yl-3-(3-pyridyl)-5-(2-carboxyphenylform azan and 1-(4-methyl-5-carbethoxythiazol-2-yl-3-(2-pyridyl)-5-(2-carboxyphenyl) formazan.